When Putin’s ‘Loss’ Isn’t Seen as a U.S. ‘Win’

By

Kathleen Hicks

May 16, 2014 4:24 pm ET

Regarding Ukraine, the White House has rightly pointed out that Vladimir Putin is the real loser in the long term: Russia is a declining power, annexing Crimea will exacerbate its economic challenges, China and Central Asia are now wary of Moscow, and NATO will be somewhat reinvigorated.

What these approaches miss is that Mr. Putin’s long-term “loss” is not seen as an American “win” and that a long pattern of withholding the American fist in the face of perceived provocations, however rational in each individual case, can tempt others to act opportunistically in the future.

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